Armenia and Azerbaijan must use new methods to solve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, EU Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Johannes Hahn said at a press conference in Riga May 20.
“The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict has been existing for a long time,” he said. “The EU is trying to do everything possible to resolve the conflict. Armenia and Azerbaijan must use new methods to solve it. The Balkans is a very good example, where we observed cross-border cooperation. The cross-border cooperation between Azerbaijan and Armenia is possible. First of all, this project is important to build confidence between the sides. The younger generation wants to overcome the bitterness of the past. In the coming years we intend to develop cross-border cooperation in the South Caucasus.”
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.
The two countries signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia, France and the US are currently holding peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented the UN Security Council’s four resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.
/Trend/
